Fibromyalgia is a common disease of the muscles thatis said to be found in woman more than man. However, with both genders, thosewho have had arthritis or medical condition that causes disease/infectionincreases the chances of getting Fibromyalgia.
Other causes may be from highstress, abuse, genetics or possibly anything that alters the way the brainprocesses pain. Medical terms tend to indicate what the condition or thing is. The term Fibromyalgia comes from two combiningforms and a suffix. “Fibr/o” is the combining form for fiber, my/o is thecombining form for muscle, and the suffix -algia means pain. Therefore, to combine the terms, “Fibromyalgia”means pain in the muscles and fibers. This disease has been around even before1981; however, in 1981 doctors were able to begin the study of this disease. Notuntil 2007 did a medication come out to help victims with the pain fromfibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is not a pleasant condition, but measure have beenproduced to help the condition.
The symptoms of Fibromyalgia are hard to detect. Thesymptoms are indistinct from other diseases which make it hard even more difficult.However, Dr. Michelle Faull who is a physical medicine and rehabilitationspecialist from Monroe Clinic said, “whatwe’re learning is that people with fibromyalgia are highly sensitive to painsignals, and they react more to touch and pressure, even experiencing painwhere others would not” (2). The symptoms include musculoskeletal pain,fatigue, sleep disturbance, trouble processing pain, psychological distress,problems with thinking, numbness in hands and feet, along with some others. Asit may be obvious, these symptoms are very similar to those of other disorders,such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis (3). With these conditions being like others, doctor’sdiagnosis of Fibromyalgia is very discrete.
There are not many ways fibromyalgia can be diagnosed.Instead of taking tests to discover the presence of fibromyalgia, doctors askfor blood tests and information on medical history to figure out what thepatient might (or may not) have fibromyalgia. If the patient indicates havingpain throughout the body for about three months or more, the victim would more likelythan not have fibromyalgia. However, if the patient has had other conditionsthat cause the same symptoms, the pain may or may not have come fromfibromyalgia. In addition to that “pain test”, doctor’s may ask for the resultsof a blood test. The blood test may be for one or more of the following: “completeblood count, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Cyclic citrullinated peptide test,Rheumatoid factor, and Thyroid function tests.
” (4). With the results, a doctor could evaluate whetheranother condition is present, or if fibromyalgia is the cause. Similarly, the treatment for fibromyalgia is also limited,meaning not many options. Currently, there is no cure for Fibromyalgia. Furthermore,the symptoms caused by fibromyalgia don’t go away after one type of treatmentfor one time. Getter better requires gradual treatment.
One way that helps relieve stress and strengthenmuscles would be exercising, doing certain activities or things to relieve stressand strengthen your body, and general positive body care. According to Mayo Clinic, “water-based exercises might be particularlyhelpful” as they may give a better relaxing experience. (4). The other way Fibromyalgiais treated is with medication. Pain relievers, antidepressants, and other medicinesthat help reduce pain and increases better sleep. Planning and executingexercise and healthy activities/living style are also beneficial when dealingwith fibromyalgia painThe prognosis forFibromyalgia is not really encouraging since there is no cure.
Since thisdisease can range from mild to severe cases, leading to disability, psychologicalfactors take place. These factors mainly include stress and depression. The best thing to do when treating thisdisease is to continue implementing the treatment that works best for you, andto consider counselling to deal with the potential stress and depression. Fibromyalgiais caused due various factors, different factors are unable make Fibromyalgiago away completely, but quite possibly reduce its presences noticeably.
